After unlocking all the summoning slots, Duanmu Huai spent several more days discussing the matter with Mary before finally making a decision and settling on the direction for choosing his retainers.
First, there were those who needed to accompany Duanmu Huai in his operations. Duanmu Huai was mainly responsible for military force, while other people had to handle everything else. Many of them were only moderately capable and needed to be strengthened.
Second, there were representatives from the various worlds. After all, the Inquisition had established bases in several worlds, and their leaders naturally needed to be strengthened as well.
Thus, the final list of retainers to be strengthened was as follows.
Queen: Mary—this needed no explanation.
Rook: Rumiere, Echote—both had paper defenses and would die the instant anything touched them. Yet both were extremely important: one was an expert in intelligence warfare, while the other was a military big shot. Duanmu Huai had to upgrade them first. At the very least, they had to stop dying instantly. Even if they were left with only a sliver of health, that would be enough for him to save them.
Knight: Ling Nu, True Clever—both were speed-focused. After upgrading, they became even more incredible. Ling Nu's ability to appear and disappear without a trace reached a whole new level, while True Clever directly became capable of teleportation.
Bishop: Ranni and Naruse Mio were ultimately chosen by Duanmu Huai as the retainers for this magic-based enhancement.
As one of the Inquisition's most powerful mages, strengthening Ranni was naturally necessary. Although Duanmu Huai rarely took her out, and she preferred to stay in her room looking at the stars, she was still one of the Inquisition's standard combat forces. Strengthening Ranni would help stabilize the security of the rear.
As for Naruse Mio, the